Speak to Me
by x silhouette dreams x
Summary: Chelsea moves to Sunshine Islands to escape her troubled past. However, when she meets Vaughn, does she discover that these two opposites might have something in common? And what happens when Chelsea's past comes to haunt her? R&R. Chelsea x Vaughn. :D
1. Shaded Eyes

one.

I rested on the boat, my legs shaking and my fingers trembling against the wooden chair. I angrily took off my red bandana and placed it in my lap, as I strung my clammy fingers through my chestnut brown hair. This boat was going to take forever. I laid back in my chair. I knew this day was going to come eventually, and I'm sure as hell glad I chose this day. I finally broke apart from my mother, finally broke apart from my father, and left to go live on my own, exactly as they wanted me to. Of course, they didn't expect it like this, but, did I care? Of course not. I could care less.

Even though this was earlier than expected, I needed this now. It was one of those things where I just couldn't let my parent's opinions get in the way of me again. I needed my freedom at this moment. I mean, my parents didn't understand what it meant to feel this way. When Mark, who is my older brother, left the family to care for our grandfather's farm, my parents were a point shy of devastated. Since Mark was a few years older than me, they hoped that he would take over the family business, me being part of it, but, not the head, of course. But the minute grandfather passed away and Mark spread the news of his departure to Sunshine Islands, my parents looked immediately toward me to being next in line. In the beginning, I was going to do it. Of course, the last thing I wanted to do in the world was be the head of a potato chip company, but if it made my too-rich-to-care parents happy, then, it would make me happier too, right?

I finally realized that that was not the case. The more I did what my parents wanted, the less I wanted to do it. I would look inside the potato chip factories, notice all the people that worked for my parents and their business, and I would just wonder, _Is this what I wanted to make my life of? Conveyor belts and packaging stations?_

The minute I discovered that that was surely _not_ the life I wanted to experience, the life I wanted to witness, I got out as soon as possible. I told my parents that my life didn't revolve around their needs and always trying to satisfy them. That horrified, disappointed look they gave me that day, I could tell, I shattered their heart into a million pieces, pieces that were so tiny, so small, it was impossible to recollect them all and puzzle them back together. But that was okay, because in the past, their hearts weren't broken once. Everything that was given to them was on a silver platter. And now their two children were leaving on one.

About three hours and twelve minutes ago, I departed from the large city to a remote island. I told my parents that I wasn't going anywhere too remote, because I called up Mark and I was going to live with him on his farm. My parents basically cried when I left, the last part of blood to their business, getting on a boat and leaving.

But that was hours ago. We were now, at now. The present. And the present consisted of me, sitting in an observation room, on a small, but cozy, boat, only about a half hour left until I reach Sunshine Islands. I was much more than excited.

I needed to get away from my life back in the city. It wasn't anything exciting, or fun, or comforting. It was loud and noisy, and my parents were never home. We always had our maid having to care for us, and that wasn't even enough. And nothing compared to what happened when I was eleven. Nothing could compare to that.

However, I'm twenty one now.

"Attention passengers," the captain's soothing voice rung throughout the boat, "our first destination, Sunshine Islands, will be arriving in ten minutes. Thank you."

Ten minutes until I stepped off this boat and into my new home. I kept myself still on the couch, staring out the windows and looking into the distance of the deep blue. It was then when I heard noises come from the staircase to the left. I was alone all of this time, and now someone wanted to come into the observation room?

I stayed seated, my leg still shaking and my fingers still trembling, but the person to come down looked no more comfortable than I did. She had strawberry red hair that was short, and was tied up by a dirty red ribbon. She's obviously been wearing it basically all of her life. She looked tired and worn out. She collapsed on the couch directly across from the love seat I sat in.

It took several awkward moments until the moody girl finally mumbled, "Hello."

I looked up to the girl, who had dark rings around her eyes. If the rings were gone and the bags were faded, and maybe her hair was less ragged, she was very beautiful. Today was just an off day, I'm guessing. "Hi there."

"Where are you heading?" she was leaning on her hand, that rested on the arm of the couch. She began to kick her feet up on the coffee table that came in between us. This girl was clearly exhausted.

I tried to make the conversation somewhat enjoyable, so with every might I had, I stretched for a smile. "Sunshine Islands."

Her eyes lightened up as she said, "You're Mark's younger sister? Chelsea?"

Alright. So, this girl, who looked about my age, obviously lived on Sunshine Islands and knew Mark. How else would she already know my name without me telling her? It was clear enough. So I decided to keep the conversation going with that.

"Yeah, that's me."

"You look nothing like him," she spit out a laugh, "it's funny how you guys can call yourselves related."

Trying to ignore the rude remark, I said, "Are you from Sunshine Islands?"

"Of course I am," she threw in a small smirk. "My name's Natalie. You'll see me around most of the time. You'll see a goofy kid with the same colored hair as me, but with glasses? That's my older brother Elliot."

I wasn't too sure what to say, honestly. It's not like I could say her brother _wasn't_ goofy, because I have never met him. It's not like I could ask where I could find her on the islands, because I have no idea where anything is. I just nodded in agreement, just so that she couldn't get upset with me, which was obviously the aura she was giving off at the moment. She shrugged her shoulders when she noticed after several minutes that I wasn't giving any worded responses. She sighed, and leaned back on the green cushion of the couch she was on.

"Yeah, I know," she grumbled, "You can't say anything because you have no idea who or what anything is like. It's all a big blur to you, and I got it. Believe me, the islands are full of people, different people. You'll have people like me, and then you'll have people like Julia. You'll have people like Pierre, and people like Sabrina. Of course, all of these names don't exactly ring a bell, but, they will. Don't worry."

I just nodded to her. I smiled wide, releasing a large breath, and said, "Thanks, Natalie."

"Attention passengers," the captain's voice broke the silence that Natalie filled when she didn't answer me, "we have just docked in Sunshine Islands. It is now time to disembark."

I looked at Natalie, who struggled to stand, and said, "Well, that's us. Come on, we should probably take you to your brother's ranch, right?"

I smiled, and stood up to join her. We both made our way towards the front of the boat. She was only several steps in front of me, as I watched her golden brown apron sway in front of her. As we were making our way down the narrow corridor, I saw a beam of light hit us at the end. Assuming it was our way out, Natalie and I began to walk just a tad faster. When we finally made our way out of the corridor, Natalie turned to me.

"You go first," she said, extending an arm out to me. "I bet you want to see it before I do."

I just nodded at her, because I really did want to see it. So I slowly made my way past her, and traveled down the ramp. I smelt salt and seafood pass around my nose, as I was finally embraced with wind and sunlight. The minute my eyes were revealed to this beauty, to this wondrous place, I immediately fell in love. I looked around to notice the beaches that extended far, the small buildings that seemed to help call this island a civilization. I noticed people of all the sorts walking around the island, all waving hello to each other. Because everyone here already knew each other.

I heard Natalie hop off the ramp and come stand by my side. She inhaled the air of the islands and said, "Yup, this little place is what we like to call home."

I looked around once more, before I heard her say, "Let's reunite you and your brother. He's been _dying_ to see you."

To that, we made our way up the dock and up the island. I looked as people threw me looks but didn't bother to come up to me and ask me who I was. I sort of liked that. It gave me more space and it didn't make me have to stop in my tracks just to say hello. So Natalie and I just made a straight forward path from the dock, up to another bridge. This bridge seemed to connect the large island with a smaller one. But when I looked at what the island consisted of, I knew that this was where I was going to live. I looked at the snug little house and the large fields. I saw the horse and the sheep and the chickens and the cows all roaming in a little fenced area in the back. I saw tomatoes growing, as the sun helped care for their growth. I was home.

"This is your brother's ranch," Natalie smiled. "He's inside cooking I think."

"Alright, thanks," I started up to the entrance.

However, she quickly called, "When you're done, meet me on the other side of this bridge with your brother. We'll happily give you a tour of the islands." She gave me a small wave as she started for the bridge without a goodbye.

That caused me to turn around and head for the small little house that stood there, happy of its existence. I slowly made its way to the door. My brother, who was brave enough to escape my parent's clutches first, was behind this door. He made a life of this place, and if he can, sure as hell _I_ can. I felt my legs grow heavier, as if gravity were pulling me to the center of the earth, to stop me in my place, to make sure I could never see my brother again. But no amount of force could stop me, so I continued to the door which still seemed so far away.

I slowly extended my arm for the wooden door. I was scared to see what would happen. What if Mark became a completely new person? What if this whole new life in a whole new surrounding caused him to change? For the worst?

None of that mattered now. I was here, and I was going to make of it. I felt my knuckles touch the wood, three times, each time a sound echoing from the door. I heard footsteps from the inside make their way toward me, growing louder each thump it took. Within seconds from my knocks, the door swung open, and the spunky blonde kid on the other side looked at me with open arms. His eyes sparkled and his smile grew as I stood before him, outside his doorstep.

"Chelsea!" he screamed, embracing me. "I can't believe it, you're finally here!"

"Hi Mark." It was difficult to breathe; he was giving me a spine-breaking hug. "How've you been?"

He released me and looked down at my empty hands-except the one hand that held my red bandana. "Where's all your stuff?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. _My stuff?_ I looked around, as if it were to be following me from the boat. But it was gone. I was supposed to grab it before I left from the workers, which, of course, I never did. I left all of my belongings on the boat, and it was getting ready to go to the next location. Fabulous.

"Crap," I muttered, "Um, I think..."

"Chels," Mark let out a sigh, followed by a small smile. "Did you leave it on the boat?"

"Mark?" a voice called from behind.

Mark looked over my shoulder as I spun around to see the man walking up to us. He was dressed in full cowboy attire, topped with the Stetson hat and all. He had sparkling silver hair, but his hair was so long and his hat was so low that the color of his eyes were nameless at the moment. He walked up to Mark and I in his cowboy boots, carrying my two red suitcases in his hands. His gloved fingers wrapped around the handle loosely as he approached us.

"I was told to bring this to you." He spoke in a low, gruff voice. I could tell by his aura that he didn't want to be here. However, his hair was beautiful.

"Chelsea, is that your stuff?" Mark wondered to me.

I quickly looked at the two suitcases and nodded. Honestly, this man's presence kept me speechless. The man came closer with the suitcases, and I tried my best to see under his hat, see under hair to see what color his eyes could possible be. But I couldn't tell, the shade of his hat only left it more of a mystery.

"Here." He placed them in front of me. "You should remember to actually take your stuff _off_ the boat." He then looked up at Mark, his expression unchanged. "Who is she, anyways?"

_Excuse me?_ I stared up at the attractive man before me.

"This is Chelsea," Mark introduced, almost looking nervous having this man stand before him. As if this man were a threat to him.

"Chelsea," he stared at me. The man made my name sound bitter, tasteless, useless. I didn't like it. He looked at me once more, grimacing. My eyes narrowed on him as he just shrugged his shoulders and began to walk away.

I watched as he made his way to the bridge, taking his sweet time. He didn't even bother to turn around, to look back, or to acknowledge himself in any way. I folded my arms in frustration.

"What a jerk." I muttered rudely, picking up my bags.

"Don't let him get to you," Mark tried to comfort me.

But I didn't listen. I charged past him and threw my bags on the floor. I stood in the middle of the house, as Mark walked in and closed the door behind us. He had sparkling green eyes and I was jealous, even though he told me I had the prettiest blue eyes in the world.

"Chelsea," he sighed, "he's a jerk, and we all know it."

"Who does he think he is?" I tried my best not to scream. "He looked at me as if I were...nothing."

"He does that to everyone," Mark sighed. "His name is Vaughn, and he's the animal dealer. I got all of my animals from him."

"Does this jerk actually live on a place called _Sunshine Islands?_" I spoke through clenched teeth at this point.

"Not exactly. He's only here on Mondays and Tuesdays, if that means anything."

I snarled. "He still shows up. Which means two out of the seven days I'm here, my days are ruined."

"Oh come on Chels, he's not that bad."

I rolled sapphire eyes to meet his emerald ones. "He's a jerk."

Mark just grabbed my shoulders and said, "Forget about him. Don't you want to meet everyone else?"

I looked up at him and wondered, "Are any of them nearly as bad as he is?"

He just laughed and shook his head. "Not a chance."

I bit my cheek. "Good." He and I started for the door, as we went to go introduce ourselves to everyone in the outside world.

We walked over the bridge, to an island that was called Verdure Island. I was able to reunite with Natalie, who introduced me to her brother, Elliot. He had adorable geeky glasses but a comforting smile. It helped me feel a lot better about the residents that lived here. I also got to meet their mother, Felicia, who had the same colored hair as them. And then Felicia's father, Taro. His head was a little bit too big for his body, and he was a little scary, but at the same time, he was extremely sweet and I knew he meant no harm.

"Just a heads up," Natalie smiled, "he's like some weather-predicting wizard. He'll always get the weather right, believe me."

It sounded weird, but on this island, I believed everything I heard.

We then went into a store known as Chen's shop, where we met the owner of the store, Chen, along with his young son-who seemed about twelve-Charlie. They were both kindhearted and extremely welcoming.

We met a kind chef as we walked out of Chen's shop. He had beach blonde hair and a bright purple top hat, and he went by the name of Pierre. He surprisingly was around my age as well and was always excited. He was another reason why I liked it here on the islands.

We then went into the shop next door, known as Mirabelle's shop. When I walked in, Mark gave me an awkward nudge before I fully opened the door. Not really understanding exactly what that meant, I completely walked inside. That was when I understood why he nudged me.

I noticed Vaughn, the grumpy cowboy from not too much earlier. It looked like he was talking to the older woman, while the younger girl who looked about my age, stood next to Vaughn. Great, I had to deal with him again.

They all turned my our way when we walked in. Both of the women had beautiful blue eyes and rich golden hair. The younger girl was a little bit too revealing, with a short white top revealing her cleavage, but she also had the cowboy boot attire. Oh Lord, these people must all be related. That's why the Jerk Cowboy kid was in here too.

"Oh hello Mark," the older woman said sweetly. It was a humble sweet and I liked it. "Is this your sister we've been hearing about?"

"Yes," I could tell he seemed a little disturbed with Vaughn in his presence. "Mirabelle, Julia, this is Chelsea."

"Hello!" the younger girl shook my hand viciously. "I'm Julia, Mirabelle is my mother."

"Vaughn," Mirabelle nudged the cowboy. He had his hat low and his arms crossed. "Say hello to Chelsea."

"We've met," was all he grumbled out of his mouth.

_And that's enough socialization for a lifetime between us two,_ I thought grimly to myself.

"Oh Vaughn," Mirabelle rolled her eyes, and whispered, "can't you talk to anyone?"

"Leave me alone Aunt Mirabelle," he growled, "I don't need your motherly talks at this moment, okay? I'm old enough to deal with my own problems."

With that, he stormed out of the room, only to hear another door slam within an instant.

"I'm sorry for him," Julia patted my arm. "He's a very...to himself kind of guy. He barely gets along with my mum and I and well, we're blood. You'll excuse him, right?"

_If I had the right mind I'd push him off a cliff._

"Yeah," I bit my cheek.

"Thanks. We're going to be great friends, you'll see."

"We should get to meeting everyone else," Mark grabbed my wrist, "we're sorry."

"Oh no, go right ahead," Mirabelle flicked us away. "I hope you enjoy it here on Sunshine Islands sweetie, it's a great place to be."

We then went to the next island over another bridge, known as Sprout Island. Mark led me towards a large mansion. I awed over it for quite some time, some drool possibly slipping from the corner of my mouth. Mark wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me inside before I could ooze over it anymore.

I was then introduced to a creepy looking man, a man with a frightening smile and curved lips that seemed to make you shiver in your spot. However, once he began talking, he sent a security through me that made me feel comfortable once again.

"My name is Regis," he said. "This is my mansion. I live in here with my only daughter Sabrina. Let me bring her in."

"Coming, Daddy." a voice called from down the hall.

Mark and I both turned to see the fearful girl step in the room. She had a cute pink dress and round, silver-rimmed glasses. She had long black hair and a bow tied in the back to keep it neat. She kept clacking her toes together and looked nervously to the floor, fiddling her fingers.

"My name is Sabrina," she almost mumbled.

"Hi Sabrina," I tried to be a little bit more outward to make her feel comfortable. "My name is Chelsea."

"N-nice to meet you."

An awkward silence fell over us. Mark and I stared at Regis and his shy daughter. That was when Mark finally concluded that it was time for us to depart, for I had to meet everyone else on the island.

I was then brought to the beach where I met a girl in a unique green dress and flowing blonde hair. She stood next to a boy with darkened skin, with curly brown hair hidden beneath a purple bandana. He had a bird on his shoulder, and a fishing rod tightly gripped in his palm.

"Chelsea, this is Denny and Lanna. Guys, this is my younger sister Chelsea."

"Oh so nice to finally meet you!" Lanna ferociously shook my hand. "I'm an aspiring singer! We'll be great friends, you'll see, you'll see!"

"I'm Denny," he said more smoothly, "I um...like to fish. A lot." He shrugged, as the bird on his shoulder almost seemed to give a smile. "What? I do."

Mark smiled and we said good bye, as Lanna and Denny waved back. Popper squealed to us, "Bye! Bye!" as we made our way to the blacksmith.

I was then introduced to Gannon. He was a large man, someone who could definitely die from hugging, but he had a friendly attitude. He was the blacksmith. He didn't smile much but the way he talked to me let me know that he was a good guy, and I always believed my instinct. I was then able to meet his daughter, Eliza. She was a small girl, about the same age as Charlie. She had perfectly curled blonde hair with a perfectly tied bow resting on her head. She wore a beautiful dress. I could tell by her looks and attitude that she was preparing to be some sort of pageant princess.

We then left, and I finally noticed a large pirate ship docked to the island. I poked at Mark and he said, "That's Will's ship."

I walked to it cautiously, only to see a blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty step out. He flipped his hair out of his eyes and gave me a curt not.

"Why hello there, Mark," he smiled to him. "Who may this be?"

"Will, this is my sister, Chelsea. Chelsea, Mark."

"How do you do, miss?" he kissed my hand oh-so-romantically.

"I do...well," I didn't know what to say. He was like prince charming right before me.

"Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have very important duties back aboard my ship. I bid a farewell? For now?"

I just nodded and he gave a smile back. He let go of my hand and made his way back up to the ship. I poked at Mark again.

"I know," he sighed, "he's gorgeous."

It took me several minutes before I could stop nodding and actually say, "Um, _yeah._"

Mark and I then made our way back up to Ranch Island. I was exhausted from the long trip. I looked up at Mark and said, "Is there anyone else I need to meet?"

"Maybe a few of the outsiders, but that's everyone local."

"Outsiders?"

"The other islanders," he smiled down at me. "If you never go to the islands there's really no point in meeting them. There's the Witch Princess, Lily, and then there's Shea and Waka."

"Waka." I repeated the name. "I have a strange feeling he's not exactly...English speaking?"

"Um..." Mark let out a laugh, "you'll see what he's like if you ever get the chance to meet him."

We passed by Mirabelle's shop and I almost grimaced at it. We continued to walk on. I looked up at Mark, who hadn't noticed what I just did.

"Mark?" I wondered.

He stared down at me. "Yeah, Chels?"

"Are the people going to like me here? Nothing bad's going to happen to me...right?"

Mark just smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He pulled me close into a hug. "Chelsea, I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I promise."

* * *

**A/N: IM BACK YOU GUYS.3**

**ive missed all of my readers so much...i hope that the long wait since _The Fisherman, the Nerd, and the Cowboy _ has kept you from loving me? I'm back with a brand new Chelsea x Vaughn fic, and I hope you like the beginning so far.**

**my apologies for it being so long...i wanted to get this whole introduction thing out of the way so that the real story could come in asap.**

**so review, PM me, oh..and review? pleasum?**

**iloveyouall forever. 3**

**x silhouette dreams x**


	2. Waste of Air

two.

I woke up groggy the next morning. It was strange waking up in a new bed. I had to get used to the new mattress, new pillow, new bedsheets, new habitat. When I arose, it was six o'clock in the morning. It was two early for me, but an alarm woke me up.

I looked over to my left to see Mark slipping on his shoes. I rubbed my eyes several times, clearing the crust that embedded them. I blinked to get rid of the blur that hazed my vision. Mark was now standing, making sure his gloves were on securely.

"Why in the world are you up at six in the morning." It didn't sound too much like a question, it sounded more like an aggravated statement. Mark just laughed at me, but my serious, exhausted face remained.

"You see, younger sis, I actually have to work in the morning."

"You mean that farm?"

He laughed. "Yes, _that farm _is my profit. And if it's my profit, it's yours too." He began to shuffle through his toolbox looking for obviously a tool of the sort, one that he obviously didn't carry around in his rucksack.

"Couldn't you do this later or something?" I growled. "It's way too early."

"Chelsea, if you want to get used to this kind of life, then you may as well start now," Mark smiled. "And it's better if I get it done now. It'll leave the rest of my day to speak to the locals, maybe catch up with Elliot or someone...fish a little. Maybe mine?"

"Urgh." I collapsed back to my bed. "Can I go back to sleep?"

"You may as well get up now," Mark walked over and tugged on my arm. "C'mon lazy. Get up. _Get up._"

After about another thirty seconds of him pulling my arm out of my socket, I finally threw my legs around the side and slowly came to my feet. Mark patted my shoulders as I looked up at him, my hair ratted and my breath smelling like the disgusting morning. I inhaled deeply and said, "Just go farm."

I could tell he wanted to laugh so bad. We were only a few years apart from each other, so the age difference didn't really matter to us. He walked away, shaking his head, hearing a few chuckles escape his lips. I finally heard him burst right as he shut the front door closed. I just shook my head and made my way towards the bathroom.

I brushed my hair out and brushed my teeth. I tied my red bandana around my head until I looked decent enough to actually leave the house.

I ate an apple as I skipped out of the house, and over the bridge. I wasn't too sure where I wanted to go. It was a breezy Tuesday morning and I felt like doing anything. I had no worries on my shoulders because Mark was doing all of the farm work. I had nothing to do for about twelve hours.

Well this might get boring.

So I waited around town for something to happen. And something did.

I backed up into a body. I quickly spun myself around, ready to apologize to the person, because I felt myself step on both of their feet. I looked at the person and stopped myself. It was Vaughn. He stood before me, looking the same as he did yesterday. He stared down at me. He was now so close to me that I was able to see his eye color. They were purple. Amethyst.

They were hypnotizing, stunning.

"Watch where you're going," was all he spat to me.

I tried to pull myself away from his eyes but I couldn't. I shook my head and said, "No...um...sorry."

I snapped myself out of the trance I placed myself under. This was the cruel Vaughn that I was staring at romantically. I didn't think of him in that way whatsoever, I barely knew this guy.

"You should seriously find something to do during the day, you're wasting air," he grumbled, beginning to walk away.

_Excuse me? _

This one wasn't going to slide on me too easily.

"No," I growled.

Vaughn didn't stop, though. I doubt he even heard me. He continued to make his way for Sprout Island, but I wouldn't let him do it. I viscously walked up to him, grabbed his arm, and spun him around to face me.

"Say that again." I snarled. "Right now."

Vaughn just stared down at me, his Stetson shading his eyes, making them look like a deep violet. He stared at me, emotionless, his eyes reading nothing. Absolutely nothing. I crossed my arms as I waited for him to say something, but no words escaped his lips. He just stood there, taking in oxygen.

"Who's a waste of air now." I walked back the opposite direction, away from him.

I heard nothing behind me. And I wasn't going to turn back.

* * *

"You looked stressed."

"I'm not stressed," I argued.

"Well, for starters, you don't know how to fish."

"So?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Well, your angrily doing this all wrong."

I stared at Denny, and sighed. I dropped the rod in the sand, and finally sat down. He looked over me for a minute, but when I stared at him with wide eyes, he joined me on the sand.

"What could be stressing you? It's your first real day here."

I rolled my eyes. "It's that stupid cowboy."

"Ah," I guess he understood, "Vaughn."

"Vaughn." I spit his name out of my mouth. It was rubbish.

"He's going to rub you the wrong way," Denny tried to explain. "He's just this guy that keeps to himself...all the time. He doesn't open up to anyone. That guy has got...secrets."

"Secrets," I whispered the word, trying to erase the secrets of my own.

"He just has no one he can trust at the moment." Denny sighed. "So he pushes people away before they could come in."

I looked at Denny. "That's stupid."

"I know it is," Denny shrugged. "But that's what you get when you try to mingle with Vaughn."

"Well I hate him." I crossed my arms and stared at the ocean. "He's been nothing but a rude, selfish jerk to me. He could swim into the horizon for all I cared."

"Chelsea," he sighed, "I've known him for years. And he might be...a grouch...but he's not a bad guy. You just have to soften him up a little bit. Me and him and small talk here every now and then. If he really bothers you that much, maybe try and have a simple conversation with him."

"What?" I tried not to laugh. "The two of us couldn't hold a conversation before I killed him."

"Chelsea," he sighed.

"Excuse me," a gruff voice spoke.

I turned around to see Vaughn standing before me.

I stood up, Denny shortly following.

"Vaughn! Um..." Denny seemed a little choked up, considering we were just talking about him.

"Hello there Vaughn," I faked a smile. I crossed my arms.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about me," he narrowed his beautiful amethyst eyes at me.

"I'm sorry," I put on a sad face. "Does that bother the cowboy?"

"Please leave," he growled softly.

"I'll go," I skipped past him. "Just to make Oscar the Grouch happy."

"Just go," I could hear him become aggravated.

"I'm leaving, don't worry," I whispered as I walked past him. "Don't let me get in the way."

I continued up the hill back towards Verdure Island.

* * *

"You really shouldn't get to him like that." Mark and I sat in the Diner on Verdure Island, both of us having a cup of coffee. I had milk and sugar in mine and his was black. I drummed my fingers on the cream-colored table cloth.

"And why not?" I snickered under my breath.

"Because." Mark scowled. "He's really not _that_ bad of a guy."

"You said yourself. He's a jerk." I narrowed my eyes on him. "Why are you defending him?"

"Chelsea, there are some things you just won't understand about him...there are things that not anyone will understand about him. But you have to cut him some slack."

"Cut _him_ slack?" I wanted to laugh. "You remember what happened ten years ago, right?"

Mark's green orbs went wide. "I could never forget."

"Okay," I breathed. "That's something you can't go back from...I'm literally scarred for life."

I tried to feel the deep cuts in my back.

"Chels, I know," he sighed, "but Vaughn is different. I don't know what it is about him but something's different. I mean you can put on a smile and mean it. He never recovered from what happened to him."

I stared at my brother a little harder now. "What happened to him?"

"He doesn't say," Mark shrugged. "He hasn't found anyone he could trust enough to open his story to. Not even Mirabelle and Julia."

I actually started feeling sympathetic. But I wasn't going to yet. I barely knew him, why should I feel sympathy for someone who's been nothing but rotten to me? I stood up, looked down at Mark, and gave him a nod. I left the Diner with no other words.

* * *

I sat on my bed and thought. _Maybe I should apologize? _

I shook my head. I mean, he was just as rude as he was to me and he didn't apologize for anything, or acknowledge the fact that I was even here.

_You should be the bigger person._

_**Vaughn is a mean jerk. She doesn't have to be the bigger person compared to him. Anyways, she had a past of her own. He's just going to have to suck it up and move on.**_

_But for all we know something life changing could've happened to Vaughn...she needs to apologize. Just to clear tension between them._

I began to wonder when I had these two mysterious voices arguing in my head. I never had them before. I tried to shake them out, and forced myself to sleep.

"_Uncle Arthur, where are you taking me?" I questioned my father's older brother. He gripped my tiny eleven year old hand through the narrow, dark hallway of his home. It was in the basement and I have yet to recognize it._

"_Just stay quiet Chelsea," was all he whispered to me. _

_We continued through the hallway, the walls bare and the lighting dim. I was unsure of how large his basement was until this point. He took me through a door that was hidden all the way in the back of the corner. Only several light bulbs lit our path._

_However, the end of the hallway was near and the room at the end was lit just a bit better. There looked to be lamp, but that was all. It was a square room, with an old bed, a nightstand, and a rocking chair._

"_Where are we?" I wondered._

"_Just relax."_

"_W-what?"_

_Everything blacked out. The last thing I remembered doing was screaming. I felt his hands on me, on my waist, creeping up higher, and soon enough, his hands were covering my mouth, trying to keep me quiet. I kicked and flailed my arms in hoping to get out. He dragged me over to the nightstand and opened up the drawer. There were only several things inside. A couple of used napkins, some empty pill containers, and a switchblade. Of course, he grabbed for the blade._

"_Shut. Up!" he growled, running the surface along my back._

_I tried my best to keep quiet, but it was until he kept running the blade along my back that I continued to scream. I finally kicked him away from me, running down the long corridor._

"_Mark!" I cried helplessly. "Mark, where are you?"_

"_Chelsea?" I heard my fifteen year old brother shout for me. "Chelsea?"_

_I saw my brother standing at the wooden staircase at the end of the hall. He was able to find it. I ran up to my brother and gave him the biggest embrace. However, I quickly came out of it, cringing in pain._

"_Chelsea, are you alright...?" that was until he looked down at his hands to see them stained with blood. My blood. "Chelsea..."_

"_We need to get out of here," I said quickly. "It's Uncle Arthur."_

_My back continued to sting as Mark gripped my hand with his bloody one. I didn't care though. He dragged me up the stairs and out of the basement. He then told my Aunt Hallie about the incident, and she took us to the hospital._

I woke up, sweating. I breathed deeply and felt the cuts in my back sting from the memory. I felt tears begin to swell in my eyes, as I opened my mouth to scream. Nothing came out though. I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face.

In that moment Mark came running in the house and noticed me lying on my bed in tears. He ran over to me and cradled me in his arms. I cried into his shoulder and weeped, "It happened again...the dream happened again."

"I'm sorry Chelsea," he whispered to me.

"It'll never go away," I choked the words, "no matter how hard I try to forget...it's like he's here, Mark. It's like Arthur is here and he wants me to remember what he did to me...what he _almost_ did to me..."

"Chelsea," he breathed, "those scars...they'll never go away. But be happy that you were able to get away...before that happened to you..."

"Mark," I cried harder, "he almost _raped_ me. And Mom and Dad did nothing about it. They didn't believe me."

"I did," he whispered, "and I'll never let anyone touch you again."

"I love you Mark," I sniffled, "but I wish you could keep the memories away."

* * *

**A/N: hey guys! if you remember anything about when i was writing fisherman-nerd-cowboy, the first few chappies always come out a lot faster. i dont see a lot of my old reviewers and this makes me sad D: well, it has been a long time since...**

**so im currently working on chapter three, and now you guys understand what happened to Chelsea so her past is a little bit more clear:D**

**its a snowday where i am so you guys are jealous? think so:D**

**so happy friday everyone and PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE review? :D**

**first reviewer for the next chapter gets a shout out? :D and some pancakes?(:**


	3. Hell Can't Be Too Bad

three.

I sat on the dock on Verdure Island the next week. The memory was out of my head. It was Sunday night and Mark was by my side. It was getting close to midnight.

"We should be getting to bed," Mark poked my arm. "Aren't you exhausted?"

"No," I shrugged. I threw him a smile. "I don't have to work every morning like you do."

"It would kill you to help."

"It actually just might."

We both smiled, as Mark got to his feet. He patted my shoulder and said, "I'll meet you back at the house" and he started walking up. I checked my watch. Twenty minutes to midnight. I'll go once it's that time.

I didn't think about anything in the time though. I just sat on the dock and stared at the stars that began to look brighter by the minute. That was when I saw a tiny boat in the distance.

I looked at my watch. Ten minutes to midnight. I watched as the tiny boat seemed to rise over the horizon and make its way right toward the island. Why was it coming straight here? And what would it be doing this late at night?

I waited patiently for the ten minutes, and at exactly midnight, the boat pulled into the dock. It's load engine caused me to rise to my feet. I watched as someone began to disembark from it.

Vaughn.

He looked straight at me. I looked right back at him. He blinked and said, "What are you doing here?"

I crossed my arms and tried to grin a bit, trying to show him that I was just playing. "I live here silly."

He just rolled his eyes. He must've found me incredibly immature. It's not like it completely mattered to me.

"Why are you here on the dock?" he tried to be more specific.

I shrugged. "I dunno." I smiled wider, a friendly smile. "I like the night time. It's soothing and not...crazy."

He seemed to shrug. Was that his way of agreeing? Or simply understanding? This man was like a closed book...no, more like a diary. He was a diary with a stubborn lock with no key.

He took that as his exit. He turned around and started to walk to what was most likely Mirabelle's. But I wasn't going to let him go like this. I wasn't ending our conversation this way.

"I'm sorry," I blurted.

This caused him to stop in his tracks. He turned around at me. His amethyst eyes reflected beautifully off the crescent moon, and I refused to look away. It was enticing.

"I'm sorry," I said again, walking closer. "About last week. I was rude, and you didn't deserve any of that."

He just continued to bore his emotionless eyes into mine. He walked closer to me, so close that we were never this close before. However it was still uncomfortable. I still wasn't quite fond of Vaughn so being this close wasn't a great feeling for me. I felt a little queasy. However, he smelt very good.

"Don't worry about it," he whispered, his eyes disappearing behind his Stetson.

He backed up a little bit, and I just blurted once more, "I really am sorry."

His eyes reappeared from underneath his hat, only to see something in them. I wasn't too sure what it was but they weren't a swirling with nothing. This time there was some sort of emotion inside of them, but I couldn't make it out.

"It's alright," was the last thing he said to me.

He turned around and made his way back to Mirabelle's shop. I wasn't able to move however. I stayed perfectly still on the dock, as I watched as he began to camouflage with the night sky. I watched as he walked up to Mirabelle's door, opened it, and closed it lightly.

Leaving me under the moonlight.

* * *

I sat in bed, and looked at Mark on the other side. The lights were off and the only thing that provided light in our house was the fluorescent moon. It was an awkward stare, but Mark just shook his head at me.

"Say that again?" he wondered.

I shrugged. "Vaughn and I talked...a little bit normally?"

"Didn't you say yourself that was never going to happen?"

"Well," I smiled, "I decided to be the bigger person. I apologized for getting on his case last week. And it wasn't a bad conversation. But it surely wasn't long."

Mark shrugged. He just smiled and even laughed a little bit. Not exactly liking it, I took a pillow off my bed and threw it at him. "Go to bed moron," I giggled. "You have work in the morning."

"One day I'm going to teach you how to farm."

I just laughed. "That'll be the day."

* * *

It was the next morning and I laid down in bed as Mark was outside tending the crops and feeding his chickens, etcetera. I played with my fingers and flapped my eyes open, trying to keep my eyes open. They felt like twenty pounds. I rolled around in bed unsure of what to do. Until finally, the phone that was in between Mark's and I's rang. I immediately picked it up.

"Hello?" I said in my laziest tone.

"Chelsea?" the high-pitched voice of the one and only Julia wondered.

"Yes?" I smiled.

"It's Julia!" she squeaked. "Well since I know you don't do much, and you seemed pretty bored last week. So did you want to spend the day with me and Natalie?"

I got a little giddy. I was being invited to hang out with girls? Finally someone was accepting me in this place. "I'd love to!"

"Great!" I could hear the enthusiasm in her voice. "Meet us in front of my place, alright? We'll explore!"

"Definitely!" I smiled. "I'll meet you in about a half hour?"

"That's good!" Julia said. "See you then!"

And we both hung up our phones. I went into the bathroom and got ready, and got dressed into my occasional clothing. I got out after putting on some cover up to block the annoying zit that grew on my forehead. I slipped on my boots and worked my way toward outside.

I got out of the door and saw Mark. He was lying down beside the field, his tools in his hands. He must've gotten tired and fallen asleep.

"Mark," I laughed, "Mark c'mon. You can't sleep on the job, silly."

Mark didn't answer however. He remained motionless.

"Mark, seriously."

Nothing.

I walked closer to him and noticed that he wasn't sleeping. He had passed out.

"Mark!" I screamed.

I began to feel my stomach squeeze inside of me. I picked up Mark's head. His pulse was slow. I took the tools out of his hand and heavily picked Mark up. He was sort of heavy, and I slung him on my back and tried my best to piggy-back ride him down to Verdure Island.

I made it over the bridge before Natalie finally spotted me. She screamed my name and ran over towards me, and looked at Mark. She touched his face softly, feeling his cheek. She finally looked over at me and whispered, "Did he pass out?"

I nodded.

"Take him with me. Mirabelle can care for him until Dr. Trent arrives."

"Dr. Trent?" I wondered.

"Just...come with me."

Natalie led me to Mirabelle's shop and Natalie screamed, "Mirabelle! Mark's in trouble!" and within and instant Mirabelle ran around her counter and took him off my back. She cradled him marriage style over towards the couch. Mirabelle was actually pretty strong.

"Julia!" Mirabelle shouted.

"Yes Mom?" Julia scurried into the room. "Oh, I didn't know you guys were here!"

"Julia," Mirabelle brought her attention back to her, "please get some water and a blanket?"

Julia nodded and ran in the other room. Right as she was passing through, Vaughn squeezed his way through the doorway, looking at Julia as if she were insane. Which she already was. Vaughn waltzed his way over and looked to see Mark passed out on the couch. Once again, his expression remained unchanged. He just stared at him, and said, "What happened to him?"

"He passed out on the farm," I spoke up.

Vaughn's head shot in my direction. He stared at me with his those eyes again...I blinked unknowingly. Vaughn stared straight at me and said, "Well maybe if you were helping him he wouldn't have to work so hard."

I felt my jaw drop at the words he said. From the corner of my eye I saw Natalie's head whip to mine. I even saw Mirabelle look up from Mark to stare at Vaughn. I expected a light scolding but she didn't even say anything. It was utter silence in the room.

Julia ran back in with a red blanket and a tall glass of water.

"Is this enough Mom...?" she noticed all of our silent expressions. "Um, what..."

Before she could finish, I shook my head and said, "Go to hell, Vaughn."

I charged out of the house right as I heard Natalie call my name. I ran over the bridge to Sprout Island. I sat behind the Cafe. I didn't cry, I just had a mix of upset and pissed off swirling inside of me. Was it really my fault that Mark was passed out? He's been trying to tell me ever since I got here to help him on the farm. But I was too lazy, too selfish to help him. Once he recovers, I'm making myself a promise; once he feels better, I'll help him on his farm every day.

"Does something seem to be troubling you?"

I looked up at the blonde haired beauty. I took a deep breath and saw Will standing over me. His blue eyes weren't quite like Vaughn's amethyst ones, but these were still gorgeous.

I shrugged at him. "Just a bit."

My voice was choking up even though no tears were pouring out of my sapphire orbs. I took in a breath, as Will sat beside me.

"What is it?" he wondered curiously. "I would love to know."

I groaned and said, "It's Vaughn."

"That strange boy with the cowboy attire and silver hair?" Will asked me.

I nodded.

"He was never a kind person," Will said, "he just doesn't get along with people. You shouldn't let him get to you. You're better than that."

I smiled at the prince charming. "Thanks Will."

"I'll always be here for you Chelsea." I loved the way he said my name. "But I must run for now. I need to feed my horse."

"Horse?" I raised a brow at him.

He smiled, standing. He nodded with a shrug and said, "Yes, I have a horse. Farewell, Chelsea, and I hope all goes exceptionally well for you."

"Thank you," I said, as he started for his pirate ship.

I watched him go. I should get to know him more. He was sweet. He cared about me, even if that was only our first conversation. I wanted to talk to him more.

I saw Natalie and Julia start their way over the bridge. They looked at me, and Natalie immediately said, "You alright?"

"Fine," I choked. "Will and I talked about it."

Natalie grinned, raising a brow. "Will?"

I smiled at her reaction. "Yeah."

"Not Will." Julia frowned.

"Not Will?" Natalie and I asked simultaneously.

Julia gave Natalie a sad look, and Natalie nodded in understanding. She looked over at me and said, "She kind of wants you and Vaughn to get together."

"Excuse me?" I couldn't help but laugh.

Julia shrugged and said shyly, "It'd be cute."

"Did you kind of miss the fact that we sort of _hate _each other?" I smiled.

I quickly thought back to last night, where we acted like two people who just wanted to have small talk. No harsh words. However, I was still trying to figure him out. He wasn't sincere, but he wasn't rude. It was nice.

Julia shrugged in some way of agreeing. "Well, maybe you guys could un-hate each other?"

Natalie quickly said, "I have to go back. My mom wanted me in early."

She turned, as we both waved bye to her. Julia continued.

"I'm serious though," she smiled. "You know how some people believe that...that some things happen for a reason?"

I stood up and shrugged. I wasn't really one to believe in that. "Sure."

"Well," Julia smiled geeky, "Vaughn has been on this same routine for about five years now. And no one has gotten through to him, not me, not my Mom. But all of a sudden you move in and..."

"He hates me," I spat.

"He hates everyone," Julia rolled her eyes. "But I just think that...in due time, something will happen. Even if you guys don't turn out to be massive lovers of the sort, at least friends."

I shook my head. "Think about it, Julia. Does he really look like the kind of guy that would want to be friends? With _me?_"

Julia just stared at me, and finally shook her head and smiled. She said, what sounded half-heartedly, "You're right. What was I thinking?"

I just laughed as Julia took my arm and said, "Mark woke up. We didn't need Dr. Trent after all. Now c'mon, my Mom is making mushroom soup and I insist on you staying for dinner."

"What?" I laughed. "No, I couldn't."

"Just stay," she smiled.

I immediately caved, as we walked arm and arm, over the bridge, back to Mirabelle's shop. But that was when I realized something. Vaughn was going to be there.

And I just told him to go to hell.

Great.

* * *

**A/N: i get into chapters, what can i say?**

**so i hoped you enjoyed this chapter:D alright, well, i love Will as a character, so its fun to put him into play:D**

**and my apologies that Dr. Trent wasnt able to be introduced at this time in the story. D:**

**however, i hope your all thinking of reviewing? DO IT. :D**

**iloveyou:D**

**x silhouette dreams x**


	4. Different

four.

I walked inside Mirabelle's and Vaughn was not in sight. Mark, however, was standing, chugging a glass of water as Mirabelle watched him. She was very motherly and wanted Mark to get better faster, I could tell. When Julia and I walked through the front door, I just smiled at Mark and Mirabelle turned around.

"Hello girls," Mirabelle said sweetly, "Julia, may you set the table for dinner?"

"Chelsea is staying for dinner Mom," Julia squeaked with a small grin, "Is that alright?"

"That's perfectly alright," Mirabelle said, "Just set out an extra plate for her, and pull up another chair."

Julia nodded and darted in the other room. Right as she left, I turned to Mark and gave him a hug.

"You scared me!" I screamed. "Why would you over work yourself?"

Mark shrugged and said, "I wanted to get my work done."

I stabbed my bony finger into his chest. "Don't scare me like that." I smiled. "If it makes you feel any better, after today, I'm helping you on your farm."

He raised his blonde brows at me. "Oh really now?"

I nodded with a wide grin.

Mark shrugged with a large smile on his face. "Alright. I'm telling you now, though, it's not easy."

"I don't care," I laughed, "as long as you don't pass out anymore."

Mark just smiled and said, "Enjoy your dinner. I'll meet you back at the house?"

I just nodded as he walked out the door.

"Come with me, sweetie," Mirabelle said, "the dinner table is back here."

I followed her into the other room where Julia was pulling out tall glasses. Mirabelle walked over to the stove to finish up the soup. Julia sat down at one end of the table, and I sat right next to her.

"This isn't going to bug you, right?" Julia whispered.

"What do you mean?" I whispered back.

Mirabelle walked over with the bowl of soup and placed it in the middle of the table. "Vaughn! Soup's ready!"

I looked at Julia as she just said, "_That._"

It stung me a little bit, and I think at first Julia noticed my plastic expression. But I quickly shook my head and said, "No, no. It's fine. Why should I let him get to me?"

Will's words rung through my ears;

_You shouldn't let him get to you. You're better than that._

Vaughn casually walked in the kitchen. When he saw me, however, he stopped immediately. His amethyst eyes stayed on mine for a tad too long, when Julia piped up with a smile, "What is it Vaughn? It's just Chelsea."

Vaughn shook his head, and sat in the seat directly across from me. Mirabelle finally came over and sat next to Vaughn, across from Julia.

The meal was silent for the most part. We were eating our soup in silence for the first ten minutes of the meal. I would give a few glances at Vaughn, but his head was down, as if he were fascinated by his soup. His hat was further down his eyes to make it impossible to really look at him. Which, I hated, considering his eyes were a beautiful purple. Even though his attitude was rotten.

"So Chelsea, darling," Mirabelle looked at me with her sky blue eyes. Finally, a conversation! "How was it back home? What were your parents like?"

"Mom," Julia whined a tad, "you know what her parents were like. She has the same parents as Mark."

Mirabelle laughed. "Oh right." She shook her head, still chuckling. "Well, what was it like at home?"

I shrugged. "I wasn't home all the time. My parents were out a lot because of their job, so Mark and I would always go to my aunt and uncle's."

"Were they nice?" Mirabelle smiled.

_Were they nice. Ha._

"Yeah, they were...alright," I still put on a smile. "My Aunt Holly might've been the kindest person."

"Great," Vaughn mumbled.

I looked at him and narrowed my eyes viscously. "What?"

"No, nothing," Vaughn murmured, "Just another person out of the bunch who had that fabulous life growing up."

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Maybe I should make some garlic bread?" Mirabelle smiled, standing.

"You're another girl who waltzes in this town with that great life and comes here for a change. You're part of the crowd, don't feel too special."

"Are you trying to say that I'm like everyone else because I have no secret like you? I have no troubled past that's left me scarred for life?"

He looked up at me with his amethyst eyes, swirling with a cloud of anger. "Yes. That is _exactly_ what I'm saying."

I felt the scars in my back sting, reminding me of Uncle Arthur. "You don't know a thing about me Vaughn. You don't know what I've been through."

I stood up and looked at Mirabelle and Julia. "The soup was delicious, but I have to be going."

I stumbled over the leg of the chair before storming out of the house. I only walked several steps outside, only to pull my chestnut locks in complete anger. He thought I was just like everyone else? He actually thought that I had the good life growing up, that nobody could've come in and twisted that and crumbled it to pieces?

I heard a door behind me open, and then close with a slam. I didn't want to turn around. I was hoping it would be either Julia or Mirabelle. But I knew I was wrong when I heard his gruff voice behind me.

"What are you saying?" he wondered.

His voice was low, and he sounded a little sincere. I whipped my head around to Vaughn, to see him feet away from me. His gloved hands were hidden in his pockets, and I was able to see his amethyst eyes through his sparkling silver hair. He walked closer gradually.

"I'm saying that I'm not like everyone else on this island," I brushed some hair out of my eyes, stepping closer. "I'm not a girl who grew up with rich parents and had the perfect life. I mean sure, my parents were never home. But that was the least of my problems."

"Then what was?" he spoke it, seeming almost angry.

"Do you not believe me?" I snarled.

"I won't believe you until you tell me."

I wanted to laugh. Hysterically, as a matter of fact. I looked straight into his amethyst eyes and said in all seriousness, "Why should I tell you anything. For all the world knows, you have no secret. You have no past and you just want people to pity you. That's why you act like this. It's for attention, not because someone, or something, hurt you. You're lucky though, because I _do_ believe that something happened...but why should I tell you my past if you'll never spill yours?" I shook my head.

Vaughn stared at me with open eyes. My teeth were clenched as I saw his amethyst orbs shake in some sort of fear. I felt tears begin to bubble up in my eyes. I tried to blink them away, but one slipped. I immediately wiped it away.

I saw Vaughn begin to back up. He turned around. As he walked away, I walked closer. I sped up to catch up with him. I forcefully gripped his shoulder and spun him around to face me. He was taller than me, basically towering over me. He smelt like the stables, but in a more refreshing way. He looked at me, and I just looked up at him.

"I don't care if you think I'm a rich spoiled girl," I said between clenched teeth. "But if I were to ask anything of you, please just know that compared to any of those other girls..." I breathed, "...I've been scarred. I know what it means to have a past that most others don't encounter. Just remember that about me, Vaughn. I'm different."

On that note, I backed away first, as he just stood there before me, unmoving. I turned my back on him this time, and walked back up to Ranch Island, back to my home with Mark.

* * *

"I hate him," I muttered, leaning against the wall, while sitting comfortably on my bed. "I think I actually hate him."

"Here," Mark handed me a beer. I was never a martini person. I took it, and took a quick swig. "Now what exactly happened?"

"He thinks I'm like everyone else," I sighed, taking another sip. "He thinks I had this fabulous past with our fabulous parents because of our fabulously large amount of money."

"So wait," Mark opened his beer and took a sip. "Does that mean you told him what happened?"

"Why the hell would I do that?" I forced a laugh. "He doesn't tell anyone his past, why should I tell mine just because I got mad?"

Mark nodded in my understanding.

"I'll only spill my backstory if he spills his," I waved the bottle around, only to take another swig. A large one.

"But you really think you two are going to be close enough to actually get that out of him?" Mark smiled.

I shook my head, trying to hold back my laughter. "Of course not." Sip. "How can anyone break through that core?"

Mark just laughed, obviously understanding where I was coming from. I looked to see beside my bed a fishing rod. I got off my bed and picked it up.

"Late night fishing?" Mark wondered.

"Why not?" I smiled. "Wanna come? I was hoping I'd run into Denny and we could chat. But of course, it'd be nothing without my big brother there."

He just rolled his eyes, and pulled his fishing rod from a hook in the wall. "Of course it wouldn't be the same. I'm an amazing fisherman."

* * *

"Oh, I'm such an amazing fisherman," I mocked my brother, as I stood in between him and Denny. Denny laughed.

"Shut up," Mark rolled his eyes with a smile. "Wait! I think I got something!"

He reeled his rod in, and his hook was attached to a soil-colored boot, that had some seaweed on the toe.

"That's grimy," I shook my head at him. "And it smells like rotten eggs and seafood."

"Well I wonder why it could smell like seafood?" Denny asked from next to me.

I just smiled, shaking my head with a giggle.

"So what's new with Denny?" I smiled. "Any crushes on the island?"

Denny just shrugged his shoulders. "Well..."

"Whoa, hold up." Mark looked over at Denny. "Something you have in secret?"

"Well..." was all he said again. "I do sort of like someone."

"Who!" Mark and I shouted in unison.

He made us come closer as he whispered, "Lanna."

Before Mark and I could 'aw' as loudly as possible, we were interrupted by a deep voice, that seemed to magically appear before us on the beach.

"Eh hem."

We all turned around, and of course, to my delighted surprise, it was Vaughn, standing before us all. I exchanged a lot of glances between Mark and Denny, and believe me, I was highly confused. I didn't expect to see him until next week. Why was he standing here before me? I came to the beach to get away from him.

"Can I talk to Chelsea?" he looked at my brother and Denny.

That was when my sapphire orbs went wide. I took another glance at Mark, who's eyes were also pretty big themselves. I then looked at Denny, who just raised an eyebrow at me. It was until my eyes went back on Vaughn's when he forcefully grunted, "_Now._"

Mark and Denny took their fishing rods and sped into Denny's house. They closed the door with a slam, leaving Vaughn and I alone on the beach. He walked closer to me, and I just backed up a little bit.

"What do you want?" I wondered coldly.

"Nothing," Vaughn shook his head.

"What?" I stared at him dumbfounded. "You want nothing. So then why did you-"

"Except," he mumbled, looking at his boots. "Except to apologize."

I held back a chuckle, going back to looking serious. Actually, I think the proper emotion was beyond shocked. I stared at Vaughn, even more dumbfounded then before, and whispered, "Apologize?"

We were both gradually walking up to each other, both of us pretty close again. I stared up at him, his amethyst eyes looking familiar under a moon. I bit back a smile.

"Yeah," he sighed, "for being...a jerk."

My favorite word.

"I don't know whether to believe if you have a past or not," Vaughn said, "but I did believe you when you said you were different."

"So many words in one day, Vaughn," I couldn't help it. I grinned just a little bit. "Why so social today?"

He shrugged and said, "Dunno."

I still smiled as I said to him, "I do have a past. Of course you could always ask Mark, but, you'd probably just think that I told him to tell you that."

He shrugged again. "Yeah, maybe." There was a pause. "But...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

I shook my head. "It was only a tear. I get over emotional. It's fine."

He grinned a little bit. I tried to keep my mouth from dropping, as I stared at the curved corners of his mouth.

"Was that a smile?" I said.

He immediately frowned again. "No."

"Oh c'mon," I teased. I cocked my head. "So do I get to see more of those in my future?"

Vaughn just stared at me harder, and took one more step closer. "No. So don't get used to it."

* * *

**A/N: oh how i love them snowdays.**

**keep up the reviews you guys, you are all so awesome. 3**

**x silhouette dreams x**


	5. Unexpected

**A/N: SORRY YOU GUYS IT HAS BEEN SO LONG.**

**i'm hoping that my viewers still patrol the site? i finally came around to finishing this chapter, and believe me, i am so happy that i did. it took me quite some months, but hey here's chapter five for you!  
please review!**

* * *

five.

"Pierre. Pierre? _Pierre!_" I screamed, clutching the tray that held a giant, fluffy cake. "It's going to fall! _Get your purple hat over here and help me!_"

"Just hold on one moment, Chelsea!" Pierre called from the other side of the kitchen. "Lanna, just _stir_ it."

"But…"she whined, "it's going to get on my pretty dress."

"_Lanna just stir it before this cake gets all over me!_" I screamed.

"Okay okay!" Lanna began stirring the batter. With that, Pierre ran over towards me and grabbed the tray.

This really wasn't my typical Thursday afternoon. But it was surely better than the other days. Pierre and I met up in the Diner Wednesday and I ended up telling him an embarrassing story about my terrible culinary skills. He only insisted on helping, and said that Lanna was coming over to help bake some cakes. He was going to take pictures of them and send them to a cake magazine to examine his culinary arts. He said he could use a few hands, if the magazine realized he was helping beginners, he would receive more credit than a normal baker. He insisted on me helping. So I caved. Plus, it would kill me to actually cook something in the house. It's embarrassing that Mark is the good cook.

The oven made a dinging sound.

"Chelsea, can you get that cake out of the oven?" he said, as we placed the first finished cake on the counter. "I'll have Lanna help you cover it in strawberry frosting."

I nodded, as I scurried over to the oven and placed on oven mitts. I honestly was never too good with cooking, not even a tad. But this easily placed my mind off of my life's troubles, especially when it came to that rotten cowboy. But that was okay. Baking these cakes have eased me a lot.

"Pierre?" I wondered, slowly removing the tray with the beautifully risen cake inside.

"Yes, Chelsea?" he looked back, with his cheesy grin still plastered all over his kid face.

"Can we do this every Thursday?"

"Oh yes!" Lanna immediately squealed with excitement. "Can we, Pierre?"

Pierre looked at the both of us with an amused grin. He looked between the two of us and said confidently, "Well, since you both are doing well, why not?"

We both smiled twice as wide, as I placed down the tray as Lanna walked her way over next to me, the strawberry frosting and a butter knife in hand.

We covered the cake in strawberry frosting, as we hummed to various tunes of popular songs. We were both enjoying ourselves, until, of course, there was a knock at the door.

Pierre scrambled to get it, quickly jolting to his feet and running to the door. He clearly didn't want anything to interfere too much with his work. He ran up to the door and tugged it open, and I noticed the look on his face remain speechless. He backed up a bit so that the person could step through. Tall, blonde. It was Mark.

"Mark?" I wondered, stepping aside from covering the cake in the delicious frosting. "Is something up? I told you I'd be back home by dinner."

"You need to come with me now," was all he said.

I looked into his green orbs, from the far distance that we were, and I could notice something was wrong. The way his emotions clouded and circled his eyes was not normal. His face was fallen and he just looked out of place. I took a few steps closer and whispered, "What is it?"

And all he said back was, "It's Grandma."

* * *

"I would love it if you two came to visit me," she spoke over the phone, her voice very hoarse and weak. I listened carefully as my grandmother tried to speak over the phone. "I know it's such short notice, but who knows how much longer…"

"Grandma, don't finish that sentence," I choked, feeling a tear slip from my eyes. "We'll be there as soon as we can, Grandma."

"Thank you…darling," was all she replied, before I heard a shuffling on the other line, for it to be immediately cut.

I quickly handed the phone to Mark. I shoved it in his palms and said, "Call the boat service. Have the next boat going to the city stop here. We need to go see Grandma."

All Mark gave me was a curt nod, as he checked beside the phone for the boat number, and then instantly starting punching it in. I paced the room, brushing my fingers through my hair. How could this happen so quickly? I mean I was only gone for a little over a week. I had barely been here any amount of time and my family is beginning to fall apart. What is it going to be like encountering my family again? They haven't even seen Mark all of this time. Who knows how they would react when we both show up at the hospital.

I watched Mark talk on the phone, his eyes flashing mine. They swarmed with absolute dread. He mumbled a few words over the line, but I couldn't hear him over my constant panic. When I noticed him put the phone down on the receiver, I looked at him.

And waited.

He stared at me and I resisted myself to scream at him, to find out when we could get over to the city to go see my Grandma. She was an elderly woman that meant so much to me, because she would always tell me stories of myself when I was younger. She would make a drive to see me on any regular day, with a fresh batch of sugar cookies, just to pop in an old video she found hiding to show me. It would occasionally be a video of me just singing a silly song or telling an obnoxious dream, but if it were a reason to get Grandma to come over and tell me how adorable I used to be and how much she loved me, I would take it. She meant that much to me.

"It'll be here in about a half hour. We should pack up some stuff for the weekend. I know Grandma would like us to stay for awhile."

"Believe me," I breathed, "I want to."

Within twenty minutes we were already packed for a good weekend. We worked our way out towards the dimming night. It was still. There was no movement anywhere out on any of the islands. It was just silent. Mark and I were creating the only hearable noise for miles, so we smoothly took our suitcases across Verdure Island to the dock.

When we got to the dock, we noticed the boat coming over the horizon. It would be another five minutes before it would actually arrive in front of us. I placed the suitcase down and just sat on it. I looked up at my brother. He just stared back. His eyes were clouded. Or maybe mine were, so it just looked like his were. Maybe I was falling apart and I didn't even know it.

"Do you think…she's going to be okay, Mark?" my voice choked.

He looked down at me again, and slowly walked over and wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face into his chest and sobbed. He stroked my chestnut hair and said, "You know Grandma so much better than I do…you already know the answer to that."

"But Mark," I cried, trying to inhale a few breaths, "when it comes to dying, I…"

I continue to let my worries fall from my eyes as Mark continued to pull me closer to his beating heart. It soothed me, only for the moment.

"The boat's almost here, Chelsea," he whispered into my hair, "we need to get on."

I just nodded into his shirt. I stood up, and the boat was ready to dock. So we waited patiently for another minute, until the workers helped us board on. They took our luggage and we both quietly went on. The city was a few hours away, and Mark went to the desk to rent a room so he could take a nap. I, on the other hand, was far from tired.

I didn't know where anything was on the boat. I started wandering, but I was mainly looking for the bar. I really needed a drink. It would clear my mind.

I continued to slump my way around, and I looked inside the observation room. I smiled, and remembered sitting on that seat. I remembered sitting on the couch, and Natalie sitting on the comfortable love seat right across from me. I smiled weakly, quickly passing it. I had a feeling the bar was just a little bit further down.

I was walking along the edge of the boat. I looked out, and saw the sun begin to hide underneath the ocean. It was like a little child hiding underneath the covers at night, hiding from the monsters in the closet, or the monster under the bed. Or maybe the child was just playing peek-a-boo. Whatever the sun was doing, the sunset it had around it was beautiful.

As I was walking along the edge, I heard faint music. It sounded like a man playing a bass, plucking its strings to create a jazzy tune, all by itself. I looked inside the room, and there it was, the bar, alongside with a very calm eating room. I smiled a little wider, noticing nice couples and elderly couples eating simple meals while listening to the bassist continue to play. I looked at the bar, noticing it _almost _empty.

_Almost._

"Vaughn?" I wondered.

I noticed his bare black back. His cowboy hat still rested peacefully on his head and I saw him tapping his heel with his brown cowboy boots against the metal leg of the highchair. He was looking down at his drink. When I said his name through my lips, his tapping stopped. He slowly raised his head from his drink. I slowly turned around in the chair, and clearly saw his amethyst eyes stare right through mine.

"Chelsea."

I stared at him through the entrance of bar, and he just stared right back, as if we were sending telepathic signals. As if he was telling me to be gone. To rid myself from his presence. _Because his secrets were too good for me._

"What are you doing here?" was all he asked, his tone spitting and rude.

I used that as my way to invite myself over. I slowly walked over towards him and said, "My Grandma's sick. Mark and I are going to the city to visit her."

He just nodded, and chugged some more of his beer. I was awkwardly standing behind him. So I just used this awkward silence to comfortably slide into the seat next to him. Luckily, he didn't oppose.

"I'll have a Hurricane," I said to the bartender, who just nodded.

Vaughn just looked over at me, taking another swig of his beer. He looked as if he tried not to make eye contact.

"Look," I sighed, as the bartender slid me my drink, "Vaughn, I know we had a rough start, but, can we just start off on a clean slate? Or something?"

Vaughn raised his head at me, as I took a sip of my drink. He bored his beautiful eyes into mine. I tried to read his emotions through the swirls of purple that stretched from his iris. However, his eyes, his beautiful, ravishing eyes, said absolutely nothing. His lip twitched as he responded, "And how would you want to go about that?"

I sighed. At least he was responding to me. I slumped my shoulders just slightly and said, "Not sure. However it works. Or any way we can just release tension. I just…don't like how I'm okay with everyone on the island except for _you._"

He continued to look at me, this time, his eyes not even blinking. It was as if he was reading right through me. I could understand completely though. Even though we may both have some secrets, whatever his may be, I was a lot more open than he was. Who knows what his past may have done to him that created him to be like this now. It was probably worse than mine. My eyes then softened towards him. I'd give him sympathy, but I refused to let him win. Even though I just said that we should start off clean.

"I'll try my best, I guess," Vaughn muttered, turning to take in his beer.

"Vaughn, I'm being serious. I want this to be a two way street."

"What's with you, anyways?" he turned his head towards me again, squinting his eyes so that they couldn't shine under the dim lighting. "What is with you and wanting to become friends with _everyone?_"

I just blinked at him, a little dumbfounded. The way he said those words hurt. I wasn't too sure why though. Vaughn didn't mean much to me. He wasn't my friend. He wasn't my acquaintance. He was that annoying person on the island that I was never too excited seeing. But the way he said those words to me, the way he looked at me when he said them, the way his mouth just seemed to move, hurt. He said them in a way that made me feel inferior to him. He said them in a way that made me feel like I was stupid, or naïve.

Quietly, I said, "There's nothing wrong with having too many friends."

"You only need a few," he murmured quietly. "Or family. But sometimes having too many friends, too many people to trust never puts you in a good place. Sometimes it'll change your life around."

The minute he said that, something clicked. I stared right at the side of his chiseled face as he finished his beer. I reached for my Hurricane, took a light sip, but continued to stare at him. What he just said might have connected to something. Something I've been looking for.

"Vaughn," I whispered, blinking only once.

He didn't turn his head this time. He just stared out into the drinks that lined the walls. He then looked down at the bottom of the mug, at the little droplets of beer. He sighed loudly. I placed my hand on his shoulder. I was hesitant about it, because I could tell; he was not one who liked to be touched. But he didn't move. He didn't flinch. He just sat there, with my left hand touching his right shoulder.

"Vaughn," I said again, "was that…something about you?"

"I've said too much," he muttered, standing up. My arm flew off of his shoulder, and he looked down at me.

I stared back up, almost in awe. I looked right into his amethyst eyes, not wanting to break away. He was annoying. Yet he was mysterious. He was a jerk. Yet he was enticing. He was aggravating. Yet he was relaxing. There was something about him that made me feel different. I wasn't too sure if I liked it or not.

He liked to push my buttons. He liked to yank my chain until I wanted to snap. He liked to do anything in his will to make me want to kill him.

But what just happened, it made me curious. It made me want to explore him more. It made me want to be closer to him.

I wanted to be his friend. I wanted to get inside the mind of Vaughn.

When no words were exchanged he took that as a cue to storm away. I watched as his arm brushed the side of my chair, swiveling me towards the entrance as I watched him leave, as he gripped the edge of his Stetson down. He was gone within that instant.

I wanted to know more. I wanted to know his secrets.


	6. Things Don't Change

six.

"Grandma," I felt the side of her face. It was smooth but her skin was very loose. Her face was extremely warm and her pale blue eyes looked up at me helplessly. My eyes softened for her, as her frail hand slowly reached up to grip mine. Her grip was very loose and her fingers were shaking just slightly. Her fingers, oddly, were ice cold.

"Chelsea, please don't worry about me," she said, with a small smile. Her teeth were an off shade of white. They were never like that. "I'll be okay."

"I'm worried though," I whispered, as Mark brought me a chair to sit in. Mark stood over me, his arms resting on the back of the chair. We both looked at my extremely sick Grandmother as she just smiled weakly at us.

"Don't be." Her voice was hoarse. Her hair looked like white wires falling from her scalp, very stringy and flimsy. She used her free hand to push some of it behind her ear, as it just molded into place. She reached out her hand for Mark to take. It took him several seconds to realize what to do, but once it came to realization, he quickly reached over my shoulder and steadily and carefully took her hand. She caressed our palms with her thumbs. "I am just so grateful to see my two adoring grandchildren before me. I couldn't have asked for anything more."

I tried my best not to cry in front of her. Grandma has never seen me cry, and I didn't want it to be now. She looked at me, noticing I was fighting to hold back the tears, and she just sighed and gripped my hand just a little bit tighter.

"I just…don't want anything bad to happen to you," I started choking, finally feeling the first few set of tears go free. I felt them trickle quickly down the sides of my face, racing to the tip of my chin.

"Darling," she released her grip to wipe away the hanging tear, "nothing bad will happen to me. I want to live to see every moment of you both. I want to meet the people you will set out to marry. I want to meet your children. I promise you, Chelsea, Mark, I will be there. I won't be there forever, but with my own eyes, and my own heart, I will be there."

That's when my eyes couldn't hold in my tears any longer. I immediately began bawling right in front of her, suddenly both of her hands wrapped around mine. I hung my head and watched the tears bubble on my legs, spreading out to soak every bit of my clothes. Mark put a grip on my shoulders and hugged me, as I continued to hold in every wail and sob.

"Dear," my Grandma spoke softly, "please don't cry. I'm right here, darling."

Within that moment, I looked up at my Grandma, who wasn't looking at me. Her pale face and her pastel blue eyes were looking towards the entrance of the room. My brother and I both turned around to look who was standing in the doorway.

My Mom and Dad.

"Oh, Mark!" was the first thing my mother could exclaim.

No, not the fact that her mother-in-law was basically lying in her death bed. She only noticed her son who stood over me, because she hasn't seen Mark in well over two years. She ran across the room and sprung herself toward him, throwing her arms around her son. Her hair was the same blonde color as his. My father had chestnut brown hair, like mine. However, both of their eyes were a dark brown. My brother and I had our colored eyes from earlier generations.

"Mark!" she sobbed into his shoulder. "I haven't seen you in _so long!_"

"Maryanne, I do believe you came here to see me, have you not?" my Grandma could only chuckle.

_How could she laugh about that?_ I snarled to myself, _she didn't even notice you in the hospital bed._

"Oh Adele, I'm sorry," my mother sadly took herself off from Mark, and walked over to her mother-in-law. "How have you been feeling?"

She just grinned up to my mother's plastic face and said, "I'm feeling quite alright. Now step aside, I would like to see my son."

I loved how bold my Grandma was. She wasn't afraid to break a few hearts to make her own happy. I noticed my mother's face fall slightly, but she did what she said. I looked over at my father who just finished embracing my brother, as he walked over to his mother.

"Eric," she said, taking his hand. "I love you, son."

"Mom," he said back, "are you going to make it through?"

"I'll make it far enough," she smiled, "please don't worry about me."

My Grandma was strong. I knew that for a fact. Always, she had been an independent soul that did things according to how she liked them. She wouldn't let anyone get in her way, despite what other people thought. She didn't care what other people thought about her, because in her opinion, it only mattered if you liked yourself. If you didn't like yourself, then there was a lot of changing for you to do.

I stared at my parents as they were constantly going back and forth between talking to my Grandma and talking to Mark. _Did they forget that I was even here?_

I finally just sighed and sat back in the chair. I looked at everyone in the room as they were all in great conversation, and my own parents wouldn't even acknowledge that I was here. They must've still been mad that I left their business to live with Mark. But why weren't they still mad at him? He did the same exact thing that I did, but he did it _first_. So why was I getting all of the abuse?

"Um, hello?"

All of the conversation in the room broke apart. It had fallen, and we all looked at the doorway. And in the doorway, was a cowboy. He wore all black attire with a matching Stetson hat. His hair was silver and shining. His eyes were a bright amethyst. And his boots clicked as he stood at the door, tapping his foot.

"Vaughn?" Mark wondered. "What are you doing here?"

"You know this man?" my Mom looked at him.

"I'm sorry," Vaughn apologized quickly. "I didn't mean to interrupt on such an occasion. But…Chelsea."

I peeked my hidden head, and my parent's heads finally snapped towards mine. _Oh, now they notice me._

"Erm, yeah?" I wondered awkwardly.

"I went back to the bar, on the boat…and the bartender told me that you left your wallet. I just wanted to return it to you."

I smiled just slightly, as I watched him hold up my old, brown wallet in his hands. I silently stood up from the old chair, and walked over to him. I slowly took it out of his hands, as he looked down at me right in the doorway. He just stared down at me awkwardly, and I quickly looked behind me to notice the entire family watching us. I felt like Vaughn had to say something but he was having some trouble trying to come across saying it.

I looked up into his beautiful eyes and whispered, "Thank you."

He just tipped his hat to me and murmured a forced, "Welcome."

He walked out of the room, and I looked over my shoulder to look at my family once again. All of their faces were slightly fallen, as I quickly darted outside.

"Wait," I called for him.

He stopped immediately and turned to look at me. The hospital hallway was silent and without any movement. The lights were slightly dimmed and it had a sickly feeling to it. There was a great large space that stood in between Vaughn and I. I was going to let it stay that way, though.

"Vaughn," I started, staring right at his frowning lips, "why did you come all the way here to return this?"

He raised his brow at me and said, "It's your wallet. I thought it would be a kind gesture to bring it back as soon as possible, since all of your information is in there."

"But I mean…I _am_ going to see you in a few days. You could've waited until then. You didn't…have to make the effort of coming to the hospital to return it."

"It really isn't an issue."

"Well, again. Thanks."

He just stared at me, his eyes narrowing. I immediately swallowed whatever pride and self confidence I had. Because I knew that this wasn't going to be so kind.

"Chelsea, just stop. Making an effort. I know you want to be friends with everyone, and I guess when I was drinking that didn't seem like a bad idea. But you don't want to be friends with me."

"Why don't I?" I wondered, asking in a serious tone. I was actually curious.

"Because," he sighed, gripping the bridge of his nose, "I'm complicated."

"But Vaughn," I put on a smile. It wasn't reassuring. It was understanding. I shrugged my shoulders and raised my eyebrows and said in a choked voice, "so am I."

"I don't believe you."

I looked at him now, my eyes wide. _Now he doesn't believe me?_

I narrowed my eyes and spoke sharply, "You said you did."

He walked up to me and spoke in clear, hurting words, "_You'll never understand what I've been through."_

He was so close that I was able to push him away. I watched him stumble backwards as I whispered harshly, "And you'll never understand what _I've_ been through. Because you and I will never be close enough that you'll deserve to know. Nobody deserves to know _anything._ So maybe you should just get out of here, Vaughn. I can tell that you sure as hell don't want to be here. So just…leave. Go back to your job. And don't talk to me."

Before I could hear him say another word, I stormed back inside the room, to see my family's dumbfounded face stare up at me.

I looked back at all of them, frozen in place. My eyes scanned the room, before my mother finally said, "Is he a friend?"

I shook my head, with a snicker, and mumbled, "He's the farthest thing from it."

* * *

I sat in the uncomfortable chair that was in the hospital cafeteria. I impatiently waited as Mark brought over some cookies and chips for us to snack on. In his other hand he was holding a tray with two coffees in them. He placed them in front of us as he looked at me, as I stared up at him. I guess the infuriating look in my eye gave him an idea that I was clearly annoyed.

"What did you and Vaughn talk about that could have you wanting to be friends with him, to never wanting to talk to him again?" Mark sighed, as he drank his coffee black.

"He's just his stupid jerk self," I mumbled, throwing in some sugar and some milk. "As usual."

"But clearly he did something," Mark looked at me, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie.

"He lied to me." I spoke flatly. I stirred my coffee, looking down at it as it magically changed colors. "He took back what he said about believing I was different."

He looked at me and wondered, "But why does that bother you so much?"

"Because," I mumbled, still looking down at my coffee. It was stirred enough, but I wasn't in the mood to take a sip yet. "For once, I met someone like me. I met someone who obviously has a past and doesn't want the world to know. Mark, I love you, but I want someone who _understands_ to know the pain I went through. And to be honest, I thought Vaughn was going to be that person."

"You thought that you and Vaughn were going to get that close?"

I shrugged, finally taking in some of the coffee. "I was going to try. I wanted someone else to know just so that I can get some real feedback. But Vaughn's too stubborn and aggravating to even tolerate. So, there's nothing I can really do about it."

Mark's green orbs looked at me sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Chels."

I shrugged. "I knew it wasn't going to happen, anyways. I had no idea what I was trying to go for."

"Chelsea, I know it doesn't help coming from me, but don't forget I was down there when he almost…you know. I felt your blood on my hands. I had a pretty strong idea about what had happened," Mark whispered to me, as I just nodded.

I felt painful memories come back. The scars on my back were stinging again.

"I know, Mark," I tried to force a smile, "but it's not exactly the same. There isn't one person on that island that went through some terrible hardship, except for that ruthless cowboy." I rolled my eyes. "I don't know."

"Well stop worrying about it," Mark raised my chin, "and be happy that he's long gone. Be happy that you're now living with me!"

I just laughed and playfully pushed him from across the table. I grinned, taking a bite from one of the cookies, and said, "Well how can I be upset when you bring that up?"

Mark just smiled as well and said sincerely, "See? Chelsea, think about it. Even though your past had some rough edges, your present, _and _your future, is looking incredibly bright. I mean we're taking on the world together now. I couldn't ask for anything more from such an amazing sister. I mean, you're my best friend."

I tilted my head at my brother and blushed slightly. I just smiled wider and said, "When did Mark become such a sap?"

He just shrugged his shoulders, drinking his coffee, and said, "When the people in my life need it most, it'll happen."

I stood up, and walked around the table to throw my arms around my brother's neck. I thanked him and hugged him tighter. He understood me enough to know the right words to lift me up while I was down. And I couldn't ask for that from anyone else.

"C'mon," he said, as he stood up. "Let's go back up to Grandma."

I nodded, as we took the extra cookies and our coffees, and slowly made our way towards the elevator. His arm was slung around my shoulder and mine was tight around his waist. I didn't want to let the best brother I could have ever asked for go.

* * *

**A/N: hey guys! so i didn't get as many reviews as i was hoping, but i guess that's what i deserve for not updating in an extremely long time :(**

**but it did make me smile to see that some of the reviews were from some old readers! that actually made me extremely happy to know that you guys are still around! :D**

**so i guess updates are going to be a bit more frequent, due to the fact that i am finally back in a writing mode :) this chapter was a bit of a filler, kind of sort of, i mean it kind of depends how you look at it. i kind of see it as a filler. **

**please review you guys! thank you so much for bearing with me! **


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